Systems and methods for controlling vehicle TPMS sensor localization

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus are disclosed for controlling vehicle TPMS sensor localization. An example vehicle includes a plurality of tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors, a communication module, and a controller. The controller is to detect an initiation event associated with the vehicle, and, in response to detecting the initiation event, determine whether first localization information is valid based on information associated with the TPMS sensors. The controller is also to initiate, via the communication module, a localization procedure at the TPMS sensors when the first localization information is not valid.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to tire pressure and, morespecifically, to systems and methods for controlling vehicle TPMS sensorlocalization.

BACKGROUND

Typically, vehicles include tires that are coupled to respective wheelrims. Generally, the tires are formed of rubber (e.g., synthetic rubber,natural rubber), fabric, wiring, and/or other materials and chemicalcompounds that reduce wear-and-tear of the wheels, improve handling,and/or affect other vehicle characteristics (e.g., fuel economy) duringoperation of a vehicle. Recently, vehicles have implemented tirepressure monitoring systems (TPMS) that monitor tire pressures and/orother characteristics of the tires. For instance, a vehicle may includea TPMS sensor for each tire of the vehicle.

The TPMS sensors measure the pressure of the corresponding vehicle tire,and may transmit the measured pressure to the vehicle for display to adriver. The TPMS sensors are located on the interior of the tire rim,and may transmit information at a slow rate to conserve battery life.Each TPMS sensor may provide information about the tire pressure whichcan be used to determine the corresponding location of the tire. Whentires are rotated or changed entirely, the TPMS sensors may no longercorrespond to their previous positions on the vehicle.

SUMMARY

The appended claims define this application. The present disclosuresummarizes aspects of the embodiments and should not be used to limitthe claims. Other implementations are contemplated in accordance withthe techniques described herein, as will be apparent to one havingordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings anddetailed description, and these implementations are intended to bewithin the scope of this application.

Example embodiments are shown for controlling vehicle TPMS sensorlocalization. An example disclosed vehicle includes a plurality of tirepressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors, a communication module, and acontroller. The controller is to detect an initiation event associatedwith the vehicle, and, in response to detecting the initiation event,determine whether first localization information is valid based oninformation associated with the TPMS sensors. The controller is also toinitiate, via the communication module, a localization procedure at theTPMS sensors when the first localization information is not valid.

An example disclosed method includes detecting, via a processor, aninitiation event associated with a vehicle. The method also includes, inresponse to detecting the initiation event, determining whether firstlocalization information is valid based on information associated with aplurality of tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors of thevehicle. The method also includes initiating, via the processor, alocalization procedure at the TPMS sensors when the first localizationinformation is not valid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made toembodiments shown in the following drawings. The components in thedrawings are not necessarily to scale and related elements may beomitted, or in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated, soas to emphasize and clearly illustrate the novel features describedherein. In addition, system components can be variously arranged, asknown in the art. Further, in the drawings, like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example vehicle according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of electronic components ofthe vehicle of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

While the invention may be embodied in various forms, there are shown inthe drawings, and will hereinafter be described, some exemplary andnon-limiting embodiments, with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention andis not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodimentsillustrated.

Typically, vehicles include tires that are coupled to respective wheelrims. Generally, the tires are formed of rubber (e.g., synthetic rubber,natural rubber), fabric, wiring, and/or other materials and chemicalcompounds that reduce wear-and-tear of the wheels, improve handling,and/or affect other vehicle characteristics (e.g., fuel economy) duringoperation of a vehicle. Recently, vehicles have implemented a tirepressure monitoring system (TPMS) that monitors tire pressures and/orother characteristics of the tires. For instance, a vehicle may includea TPMS sensor for each tire of the vehicle. In such instances, if one ofthe TPMS sensors detects a low tire pressure, a cluster output device ofthe vehicle is activated to alert an operator (e.g., a driver) of thevehicle to the low tire pressure. Oftentimes, TPMS sensors areconfigured to collect tire pressure measurements once every minute (orevery few minutes).

Examples disclosed herein include a TPMS controller that detects aninitiation event of a vehicle. For example, initiation events detectedby the TPMS controller include the vehicle transitioning from stop(e.g., a stopping state) to drive (e.g., a driving state), the vehiclesatisfying a threshold speed (e.g., the vehicle is travelling at morethan 8 kilometers per hour), or the vehicle determining that pressurevalue received from a sensor is below the “low pressure” threshold.

Upon detecting the initiation event, the TPMS controller determineswhether previously collected localization information is valid. Forexample, the TPMS controller may use timestamps, location information(e.g., GPS position/location information), sensor identifiers, etc.associated with the previously collected localization information todetermine whether the previously collected localization information isvalid.

If the TPMS controller determines that the previously collectedlocalization information is valid, then the TPMS controller skips (e.g.,foregoes) the localization procedure at the current time to conservebattery life.

If the TPMS controller determines that the previously collectedlocalization information is not valid, then the TPMS controllerinitiates a localization procedure to collect updated localizationinformation. For example, the TPMS controller activates TPMS sensors ofa vehicle in a bi-directional paired state upon detecting an initiationevent of the vehicle. To activate the TPMS sensors in the bi-directionalstate, the TPMS controller emits a low-frequency pairing request for theTPMS sensors, establishes communication with the TPMS sensors via aBluetooth® low-energy and/or other communication protocol, and sends aninstruction to the TPMS sensors via the established communicationpairings to collect tire pressure data. Additionally or alternatively,the TPMS controller may send a pairing request via a wirelesscommunication protocol, such as Bluetooth® low-energy or Wi-Fi, and theTPMS sensors may be configured to open a receive buffer on a periodicinterrupt to pair with the vehicle (e.g., the TPMS controller) uponreceiving the pairing request.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates an example vehicle 100 inaccordance with the teachings herein. The vehicle 100 may be a standardgasoline powered vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, a fuelcell vehicle, and/or any other mobility implement type of vehicle. Thevehicle 100 includes parts related to mobility, such as a powertrainwith an engine, a transmission, a suspension, a driveshaft, and/orwheels, etc. The vehicle 100 may be non-autonomous, semi-autonomous(e.g., some routine motive functions controlled by the vehicle 100), orautonomous (e.g., motive functions are controlled by the vehicle 100without direct driver input).

The vehicle 100 of the illustrated example includes an engine. Forexample, the engine includes an internal combustion engine, an electricmotor, a hybrid engine and/or any other power source that propelsmovement of the vehicle 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 includes tires 102 and tirepressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors 104. For example, the tires102 are coupled to respective wheel rims of the vehicle 100. In someexamples, the tires 102 are formed of rubber (e.g., synthetic rubber,natural rubber), fabric, wiring, and/or other materials and chemicalcompounds that reduce wear-and-tear of the wheels, improve handling,and/or affect other vehicle characteristics (e.g., fuel economy) duringoperation of the vehicle 100. Further, in some examples, the tires 102include treads (e.g., grooved patterns) on their outer surfaces tofurther improve handling during operation of the vehicle 100.

The TPMS sensors 104 of the illustrated example include circuitryconfigured to determine tire pressures and/or other characteristics ofthe tires 102. For example, each of the TPMS sensors 104 include one ormore processors and/or memory that may enable the TPMS sensors 104 tocarry out one or more functions. Each of the TPMS sensors 104 alsoinclude a pressure sensor to detect a tire pressure of the correspondingone of the tires 102. Further, each of the TPMS sensors 104 includescircuitry to facilitate communication with one or more devices orsystems, such as a communication module 120 of vehicle 100. For example,each of the TPMS sensors 104 include antenna(s) that are configured to(i) receive and transmit data collected from a pressure sensor and/orother sensor(s) of the TPMS sensor 104 and (ii) receive signals/request(e.g., activation signals/requests, wake-up signals/requests, pairingsignals/requests, instructions, etc.) from the communication module 120of the vehicle 100. The antenna(s) and/or communication module of eachof the TPMS sensors 104 enable communication with the communicationmodule 120 of the vehicle 100 via low-frequency signals, high-frequencysignals, ultra high frequency (e.g., 315 MHz and/or 433 MHz) signals,Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) signals, Bluetooth® communication protocol,Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) protocol, Wi-Fi communication protocol(e.g., IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), etc.

The communication module 120 of the illustrated example includes wiredor wireless network interfaces to enable communication with externalnetworks. The communication module 120 also includes hardware (e.g.,processors, memory, storage, antenna, etc.) and software to control thewired or wireless network interfaces. In the illustrated example, thecommunication module 120 includes one or more communication controllersfor cellular networks (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long TermEvolution (LTE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)), Near FieldCommunication (NFC) and/or other standards-based networks (e.g., WiMAX(IEEE 802.16m); Near Field Communication (NFC), local area wirelessnetwork (including IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac or others), Wireless Gigabit(IEEE 802.11ad), etc.). In some examples, the communication module 120includes a wired or wireless interface (e.g., an auxiliary port, aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) port, a Bluetooth® wireless node, etc.) tocommunicatively couple with a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone, awearable, a smart watch, a tablet, etc.). In some examples, thecommunication module 120 implements the Bluetooth® and/or BLE protocols.The Bluetooth® and BLE protocols are set forth in Volume 6 of theBluetooth® Specification 4.0 (and subsequent revisions) maintained bythe Bluetooth® Special Interest Group. In some examples, the vehicle 100may communicate with the external network via, for example, a coupledmobile device. The external network(s) may be a public network, such asthe Internet, a private network, such as an intranet, or combinationsthereof, and may utilize a variety of networking protocols now availableor later developed including, but not limited to, TCP/IP-basednetworking protocols.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, each of the TPMS sensors 104include an LF receiver 106 to facilitate communication with an LFantenna 125 via low frequency transmissions. For example, the LF antenna125 may transmit a wake-up request via a low frequency (LF) transmissionthat is received by the LF receivers 106. The LF receivers 106 may thencause the TPMS sensors 104 to transition from a sleep mode to an activemode.

Further, the vehicle 100 includes a TPMS controller 130. For example,the TPMS controller 130 is configured to activate, localize, collectmeasurements from, and present alert(s) based on the TPMS sensors 104 ofthe respective tires 102. That is, the TPMS controller 130 collects tirepressure measurements from the TPMS sensors 104 of the vehicle 100,compares the collected tire pressure measurements to a tire pressurethreshold, and presents a low-pressure alert to a user (e.g., a driver)when one or more of the tire pressure measurements is less than the tirepressure threshold. The tire pressure threshold may correspond to afactory-recommended lower limit of a tire pressure for the tires 102and/or the vehicle 100.

In the illustrated example, the TPMS sensors 104 are configured to be ina sleep mode (also referred to as a stationary mode) and an active mode(also referred to as a driving mode).

The TPMS sensors 104 are set in sleep mode upon determining that thevehicle 100 has been stationary for a predetermined period of time(e.g., 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.) and/or the vehicle 100 is travellingat less than a predetermined speed (e.g., 8 kilometers per hour, 16kilometers miles per hour, etc). The vehicle 100 may be stationary forthe predetermined period of time when the vehicle 100 is parked and/orwhen the vehicle 100 is stuck in traffic. For example, one or more ofthe TPMS sensors 104 of the vehicle 100 includes a sensor (e.g., agyroscope, an accelerometer, etc.) to detect rotation of thecorresponding one of the tires 102. That is, the sensors detect movementof the tires 102. When the sensors detect that the tires 102 arestationary, the TPMS sensors 104 determine that the vehicle 100 isstationary. If the TPMS sensors 104 determine that the vehicle 100 isstationary for the predetermined period of time, the TPMS controller 130sets the TPMS sensors 104 in sleep mode. Further, when the TPMS sensors104 are in the sleep mode, the pressure sensors of the TPMS sensors 104collect tire pressure measurements at extended intervals (e.g., onceevery 6 hours) to reduce an amount of energy consumed by the TPMSsensors 104 over a period of time. In some examples, the TPMS sensors104 periodically broadcast (e.g., once every 6 hours) a “heart beat”including pressure information and a sensor identifier.

The TPMS controller 130 sets the TPMS sensors 104 in active mode upondetermining that the vehicle 100 is moving. For example, the TPMSsensors 104 determine that the vehicle 100 is moving when the sensorsdetect that the tires 102 are rotating. The TPMS sensors 104 areactivated for monitoring the tires 102 upon transitioning to the activemode from the sleep mode. For example, to activate the TPMS sensors 104,communication is established between the TPMS sensors 102 and thecommunication module 120 of the vehicle 100 to pair the TPMS sensors 104to the communication module 120 and/or other communication module(s) ofthe vehicle 100. For example, the TPMS controller 130 pairs the TPMSsensors 104 to the communication module 120 via BLE, Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®,UWB, UHF, and/or any other communication protocol. Upon pairing the TPMSsensors 104, the TPMS controller 130 sends an instruction, via thecommunication module 120, to the TPMS sensors 104 to instruct the TPMSsensors 104 to collect tire pressure measurements from the tires 102.

Further, the TPMS controller 130 localizes the tires 102 based on thecommunication between the TPMS sensors 104 and the communication module120. That is, the TPMS controller 130 identifies the location of each ofthe TPMS sensors 104 and the corresponding tires 102 based on thecommunication between the TPMS sensors 102 and the communication module120. For example, the TPMS controller 130 identifies which of the TPMSsensors 104 is located at a front driver-side wheel well, a frontpassenger-side wheel well, a rear driver-side wheel well, and a rearpassenger-side wheel well. In some examples, the TPMS controller 130determines locations of the TPMS sensors 104 based upon received signalstrength indicators (RSSIs), time-of-flight, and/or angle-of-arrival ofsignals sent between the TPMS sensors 104 and the communication module120 and/or other communication module(s) located throughout the vehicle100. For example, the TPMS controller 130 utilizes triangulation and/ortrilateration to localize the TPMS sensors 104 based upon the RSSIs,time-of-flight, and/or angle-of-arrival of signals sent between the TPMSsensors 104 and the plurality of communication modules.

When the TPMS sensors 104 are in active mode, the pressure sensors ofthe TPMS sensors 104 collect tire pressure measurements at shortintervals (e.g., once every minute) to enable the TPMS sensors 104 toquickly detect a drop in air pressure of the tires 102 while the vehicle100 is moving. For example, by collecting tire pressure measurements atshort intervals, the TPMS sensors 104 are able to detect a puncture toone of the tires 102 while the vehicle 100 is traveling along a road.Upon collecting the tire pressure measurements, the TPMS sensors 104send the tire pressure measurements to the TPMS controller 130 via thecommunication module 120 of the vehicle 100. For example, thecommunication module 120 communicates with the TPMS sensors 104 via BLEcommunication, Bluetooth® communication, Wi-Fi® Communication, UWBcommunication, UHF communication, and/or any other communicationprotocol to collect the tire pressure measurements from the TPMS sensors104. Further, the TPMS controller 130 compares the tire pressuremeasurements to a tire pressure threshold corresponding to the tires 102and/or the vehicle 100. In response to determining that one or more ofthe tire pressure measurements is less than the tire pressure threshold,the TPMS controller 130 presents a low-pressure alert to the user (e.g.,via a display 218 of an infotainment head unit 204 of FIG. 2).

In the illustrated example, to activate the TPMS sensors 104 into thepaired state (e.g., a bi-directional paired state), the TPMS controller130 sends, via the communication module 120, a low-energy pairingrequest to the TPMS sensors 104 upon detecting an initiation event. Forexample, the TPMS controller 130 may determine that the vehicle 100 ismoving (e.g., based on movement of the tires 102). Additionally oralternatively, the TPMS controller 130 may detect the initiation eventin response to determining that the vehicle 100 is travelling at least apredetermined speed (e.g., more than 8 kilometers per hour, etc.).Additionally or alternatively, the TPMS controller 130 may detect aninitiation event in response to receive a pressure value from a TPMSsensor 104 that is below the “low pressure” threshold.

In response to determining that previously collected localizationinformation is not valid, the TPMS controller 130 establishes acommunication between the TPMS sensors 104 and the communication module120 by initiating a pairing request. For example, communication isestablished between the TPMS sensors 104 and the communication module120 of the vehicle 100 to pair the TPMS sensors 104 to the communicationmodule 120 and/or other communication module(s) of the vehicle 100. Insome examples, the TPMS controller 130 may initiate the pairing requestby causing the LF antenna 125 to transmit a wake-up request to the TPMSsensors 104 (e.g., the LF receivers 106) via a low-frequencytransmission. Additionally or alternatively, the TPMS sensors 104 mayinclude a polling interval to detect pairing requests from the TPMScontroller 130, the communication module 120, the LF antenna 125 and/orother communication module(s) of the vehicle 100. The TPMS controller130 pairs the TPMS sensors 104 to establish BLE communication,Bluetooth® communication, Wi-Fi® communication, UWB communication,ultra-high frequency (UHF) communication and/or any other form ofcommunication between the TPMS sensors 104 and the communication module120.

Upon pairing the TPMS sensors 104 for communication with thecommunication module 120, the TPMS controller 130 determines whetherstored localization information is valid. In the illustrated example,the stored localization information is localization information that waspreviously collected from the TPMS sensors 104 (e.g., during a previouspaired state). The TPMS controller 130 stores the previously collectedlocalization information in a database, such as example database 216 ofon-board computing platform 202 of FIG. 2). The stored localizationinformation includes location information of the TPMS sensors 104 (e.g.,front driver-side wheel well, front passenger-side wheel well, reardriver-side wheel well, and rear passenger-side wheel well), whether theprevious localization procedure was successful (e.g., whether all or asubset of the TPMS sensors 104 were localized), identifiers (e.g.,Bluetooth® identifiers) associated with the TPMS sensors 104, and atimestamp (e.g., a date and/or time) when the localization informationwas collected. However, it should be appreciated that additional oralternative information may also be collected in the stored localizationinformation.

The TPMS controller 130 may determine whether the stored localizationinformation is valid based on different criteria. For example, the TPMScontroller 130 may determine whether the stored localization informationis stale based on a comparison of a timestamp associated with the storedlocalization information and a current timestamp. If a differencebetween the timestamp associated with the stored localizationinformation and the current timestamp is greater than a predeterminedperiod (e.g., does not satisfy a time threshold) (e.g., is more than 24hours old), the TPMS controller 130 determines that the storedlocalization information is not valid.

In additional or alternate examples, the TPMS controller 130 maydetermine whether the stored localization information is valid bycomparing current location information of the vehicle 100 to GPSinformation included with the stored localization information. Forexample, the TPMS controller 130 may determine that the storedlocalization information is not valid based on determining a relativelysignificant change (e.g., does not satisfy a location threshold) in GPSlocation of the vehicle 100 between the current location of the vehicle100 and location information associated with the stored localizationinformation (e.g., in response to the vehicle 100 being moved (e.g.,towed) without initiating the engine, etc.).

In additional or alternate examples, the TPMS controller 130 maydetermine whether the stored localization information is valid bycomparing sensor identifiers associated with the TPMS sensors 104 withidentifiers included (e.g., sensor identifiers) in the storedlocalization information. For example, when a TPMS sensor 104 entersinto a paired state, the TPMS sensor 104 may provide (e.g., broadcast)their sensor identifier (e.g., a Bluetooth® identifier, an alphanumericstring, etc.) to the TPMS controller 130. Additionally or alternatively,the TPMS sensors 104 may periodically broadcast (e.g., every 6 hours) aheart beat that includes a pressure value and a sensor identifier. TheTPMS controller 130 may then compare the identifiers associated with theTPMS sensors 104 that are currently paired with the TPMS controller 130and the identifiers included in the stored localization information todetermine whether the stored localization information is valid. Forexample, if one or more of the tires 102 of the vehicle 100 werereplaced, the set of sensor identifiers included in the storedlocalization information would not match the set of sensor identifierscurrently broadcast by the TPMS sensors 104, and the TPMS controller 130would determine that the stored localization information is not valid.In additional or alternate examples, the TPMS controller 130 maydetermine that at least one the TPMS sensors 104 that is currentlybroadcasting has a significant drop in RSSI (e.g., a tire has been movedto the trunk of the vehicle 100) and the TPMS controller 130 woulddetermine that the stored localization information is not valid.

In additional or alternate examples, the TPMS controller 130 maydetermine whether the stored localization information is valid bychecking if the stored localization information includes any indicatorsof incomplete localization. For example, one or more of the TPMS sensors104 may have been unable to localize during the previous localizationprocedure and, thus, the stored localization information may include aflag associated with an incomplete localization from one or more of theTPMS sensors 104.

In the illustrated example, if the TPMS controller 130 determines thatthe stored localization information is valid, the TPMS controller 130skips initiating a localization procedure and may set all of the TPMSsensors 104 to sleep mode. By skipping (or foregoing) the localizationprocedure, the TPMS controller 130 conserves battery life of the TPMSsensors 104 by reducing the time they spend paired with the TPMScontroller 130 and/or the communication module 120. The TPMS controller130 may then wait for another initiation event to determine whether toperform a localization procedure.

The TPMS controller 130 also localizes the tires 102 based on thecommunication between the TPMS sensors 104 and the communication module120. For example, the TPMS controller 130 determines locations of theTPMS sensors 104 based upon RSSIs, time-of-flight, and/orangle-of-arrival of signals sent between the TPMS sensors 104 and thecommunication module 120 and/or other communication module(s) locatedthroughout the vehicle 100. For example, the TPMS controller 130utilizes triangulation and/or trilateration to localize the TPMS sensors104 based upon received signal strength indicators (RSSIs),time-of-flight, and/or angle-of-arrival of signals sent between the TPMSsensors 104 and the plurality of communication modules.

In the illustrated example, when the TPMS controller 130 localizes atire 102, the TPMS controller 130 may set the corresponding TPMS sensor104 to sleep mode to conserve battery life of the corresponding TPMSsensor 104. In some examples, the TPMS controller 130 may re-initiatethe localization procedure for one or more of the TPMS sensors 104 ifthe TPMS controller 130 receives an incomplete localization flag from aTPMS sensor 104. For example, the localization procedure may time-outafter a time-out period has passed (e.g., after ten minutes of trying tolocalize the tires 102 once the TPMS controller 130 initiates thelocalization procedure, etc.). By re-initiating the localizationprocedure for the one or more of the TPMS sensors 104, the TPMScontroller 130 enables the TPMS sensors 104 to continue to attempt tolocalize and provide localization information to the TPMS controller130. The TPMS controller 130 may re-initiate the localization procedurefor all of the TPMS sensors 104, a subset of the TPMS sensors (e.g., theTPMS sensors 104 that provided incomplete localization flags), or noneof the TPMS sensors 104.

When the TPMS sensors 104 are providing localization information to theTPMS controller 130, the pressure sensors of the TPMS sensors 104collect tire pressure measurements of the tires 102. Upon collecting thetire pressure measurements, the TPMS sensors 104 send the tire pressuremeasurements to the TPMS controller 130 via the communication module 120of the vehicle 100. That is, the TPMS controller 130 collects the tirepressure measurements from the TPMS sensors 104 via the communicationmodule 120. For example, the communication module 120 receives the tirepressure measurements from the TPMS sensors 104 via BLE communication,Bluetooth® communication, Wi-Fi® Communication, UWB communication, UHFcommunication, and/or any other communication protocol to collect thetire pressure measurements from the TPMS sensors 104.

Further, the TPMS controller 130 of the illustrated example compares thetire pressure measurements to a tire pressure threshold corresponding tothe tires 102 and/or the vehicle 100. The TPMS controller 130 isconfigured to present a low-pressure alert to the user (e.g., via adisplay 218 of an infotainment head unit 204 of FIG. 2) in response todetermining that one or more of the tire pressure measurements is lessthan the tire pressure threshold. In some examples, the TPMS controller130 is configured to present a low-pressure alert and/or tire pressuremeasurement(s) via a display (e.g., a display 218 of FIG. 2), speakers(e.g., speakers 220 of FIG. 2), and/or any other output device of thevehicle 100 upon identifying a low tire pressure for one of the tires102. Further, in some examples, the TPMS controller 130 stores (e.g.,via memory 214 of FIG. 2) the tire pressure measurement(s) and/orlow-pressure alert until the user has entered the vehicle 100 and/or theengine of the vehicle 100 is activated. In such examples, the TPMScontroller 130 presents the tire pressure measurement(s) and/orlow-pressure alert via the output device(s) of the vehicle 100 upondetecting that the user is within the vehicle 100 and/or the engine hasstarted. Additionally or alternatively, the TPMS controller 130 sends asignal to a mobile device of the user, for example, via thecommunication module 120, to present the tire pressure measurement(s)and/or low-pressure alert to the user via their mobile device. Forexample, TPMS controller 130 instructs the mobile device to present tirepressure measurement(s) and/or low-pressure alert to enable the user todetermine whether one or more of the tires 102 has a low pressure beforeentering and operating the vehicle 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of electronic components 200 of the vehicle100. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the electronic components 200 include anon-board computing platform 202, an infotainment head unit 204, thecommunication module 120, the LF antenna 125, sensors 206, electroniccontrol units (ECUs) 208, and a vehicle data bus 210.

The on-board computing platform 202 includes a microcontroller unit,controller or processor 212, memory 214, and a database 216. In someexamples, the processor 212 of the on-board computing platform 202 isstructured to include the TPMS controller 130. Alternatively, in someexamples, the TPMS controller 130 is incorporated into anotherelectronic control unit (ECU) with its own processor 212, memory 214,and/or database 216. The database 216 stores, for example, entries thatcorrespond to previously collected localization information. Forexample, the TPMS controller 130 may record in the database 216information such as the stored localization information. The storedlocalization information includes location information of the TPMSsensors 104 (e.g., front driver-side wheel well, front passenger-sidewheel well, rear driver-side wheel well, and rear passenger-side wheelwell), whether the previous localization procedure was successful (e.g.,whether all or a subset of the TPMS sensors 104 were localized),identifiers (e.g., Bluetooth® identifiers) associated with the TPMSsensors 104, and a timestamp (e.g., a date and/or time) when thelocalization information was collected. However, it should beappreciated that the TPMS controller 130 may record additional oralternative information in the stored localization information. The TPMScontroller 130 may process the stored localization information todetermine whether the stored localization information is valid.

The processor 212 may be any suitable processing device or set ofprocessing devices such as, but not limited to, a microprocessor, amicrocontroller-based platform, an integrated circuit, one or more fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), and/or one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The memory 214 may bevolatile memory (e.g., RAM including non-volatile RAM, magnetic RAM,ferroelectric RAM, etc.), non-volatile memory (e.g., disk memory, FLASHmemory, EPROMs, EEPROMs, memristor-based non-volatile solid-statememory, etc.), unalterable memory (e.g., EPROMs), read-only memory,and/or high-capacity storage devices (e.g., hard drives, solid statedrives, etc). In some examples, the memory 214 includes multiple kindsof memory, particularly volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

The memory 214 is computer readable media on which one or more sets ofinstructions, such as software for operating the methods of the presentdisclosure, can be embedded. The instructions may embody one or more ofthe methods or logic as described herein. For example, the instructionsreside completely, or at least partially, within any one or more of thememory 214, the computer readable medium, and/or within the processor212 during execution of the instructions.

The terms “non-transitory computer-readable medium” and“computer-readable medium” include a single medium or multiple media,such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated cachesand servers that store one or more sets of instructions. Further, theterms “non-transitory computer-readable medium” and “computer-readablemedium” include any tangible medium that is capable of storing, encodingor carrying a set of instructions for execution by a processor or thatcause a system to perform any one or more of the methods or operationsdisclosed herein. As used herein, the term “computer readable medium” isexpressly defined to include any type of computer readable storagedevice and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals.

The infotainment head unit 204 provides an interface between the vehicle100 and the user. The infotainment head unit 204 includes digital and/oranalog interfaces (e.g., input devices and output devices) to receiveinput from and display information for the user(s). The input devicesinclude, for example, a control knob, an instrument panel, a digitalcamera for image capture and/or visual command recognition, a touchscreen, an audio input device (e.g., cabin microphone), buttons, or atouchpad. The output devices may include actuators, a display 218 (e.g.,a cluster output, a heads-up display, a center console display such as aliquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED)display, a flat panel display, a solid state display, etc.), and/orspeakers 220. For example, the infotainment head unit 204 includeshardware (e.g., a processor or controller, memory, storage, etc.) andsoftware (e.g., an operating system, etc.) for an infotainment system(such as SYNC® and MyFord Touch® by Ford®). Additionally, theinfotainment head unit 204 displays the infotainment system on, forexample, a center console display. In the illustrated example, the TPMScontroller 130 is configured to present low-pressure alert(s) to theuser via the display 218, the speakers 220, and/or any other outputdevice of the infotainment head unit 204.

The sensors 206 are arranged in and around the vehicle 100 to monitorproperties of the vehicle 100 and/or an environment in which the vehicle100 is located. One or more of the sensors 206 may be mounted to measureproperties around an exterior of the vehicle 100. Additionally oralternatively, one or more of the sensors 206 may be mounted inside acabin of the vehicle 100 or in a body of the vehicle 100 (e.g., anengine compartment, wheel wells, etc.) to measure properties in aninterior of the vehicle 100. For example, the sensors 206 includeaccelerometers, odometers, tachometers, pitch and yaw sensors, wheelspeed sensors, microphones, tire pressure sensors, biometric sensors,cameras, and/or sensors of any other suitable type. In the illustratedexample, the sensors 206 include the TPMS sensors 104 and the LFreceivers 106.

The ECUs 208 monitor and control the subsystems of the vehicle 100. Forexample, the ECUs 208 are discrete sets of electronics that includetheir own circuit(s) (e.g., integrated circuits, microprocessors,memory, storage, etc.) and firmware, sensors, actuators, and/or mountinghardware. The ECUs 208 communicate and exchange information via avehicle data bus (e.g., the vehicle data bus 210). Additionally, theECUs 208 may communicate properties (e.g., status of the ECUs 208,sensor readings, control state, error and diagnostic codes, etc.) toand/or receive requests from each other. For example, the vehicle 100may have seventy or more of the ECUs 208 that are positioned in variouslocations around the vehicle 100 and are communicatively coupled by thevehicle data bus 210.

In the illustrated example, the ECUs 208 include a body control module228 and an engine control unit 230. For example, the body control module228 controls one or more subsystems throughout the vehicle 100, such aspower windows, power locks, an immobilizer system, power mirrors, etc.For example, the body control module 228 includes circuits that driveone or more of relays (e.g., to control wiper fluid, etc.), brusheddirect current (DC) motors (e.g., to control power seats, power locks,power windows, wipers, etc.), stepper motors, LEDs, etc. Further, theengine control unit 230 control(s) operation (e.g., remote starting,passive starting, and/or ignition switch starting) of the engine of thevehicle 100.

The vehicle data bus 210 communicatively couples the communicationmodule 120, the LF antenna 125, the on-board computing platform 202, theinfotainment head unit 204, the sensors 206, and the ECUs 208. In someexamples, the vehicle data bus 210 includes one or more data buses. Thevehicle data bus 210 may be implemented in accordance with a controllerarea network (CAN) bus protocol as defined by International StandardsOrganization (ISO) 11898-1, a Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST)bus protocol, a CAN flexible data (CAN-FD) bus protocol (ISO 11898-7)and/a K-line bus protocol (ISO 9141 and ISO 14230-1), and/or anEthernet™ bus protocol IEEE 802.3 (2002 onwards), etc.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method 300 for controlling vehicleTPMS sensor localization. The flowchart of FIG. 3 is representative ofmachine readable instructions that are stored in memory (such as thememory 214 of FIG. 2) and include one or more programs which, whenexecuted by a processor (such as the processor 212 of FIG. 2), cause thevehicle 100 to implement the example TPMS controller 130 of FIG. 1and/or FIG. 2. While the example program is described with reference tothe flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3, many other methods of implementingthe example TPMS controller 130 may alternatively be used. For example,the order of execution of the blocks may be rearranged, changed,eliminated, and/or combined to perform the method 300. Further, becausethe method 300 is disclosed in connection with the components of FIG. 1and/or FIG. 2, some functions of those components will not be describedin detail below.

Initially, at block 302, the TPMS controller 130 determines whether aninitiation event has occurred. For example, the TPMS controller 130 maydetermine whether the vehicle 100 is moving and/or whether the vehicle100 is travelling a threshold speed (e.g., more than 8 kilometers perhour, etc.). If, at block 302, the TPMS controller 130 does not detectan initiation event, the method 300 returns to block 302 to wait todetect an initiation event.

If, at block 302, the TPMS controller 130 detects an initiation event,then, at block 304, the TPMS controller 130 reviews stored localizationinformation to determine whether the stored localization information isvalid or whether to request updated localization information. Forexample, the TPMS controller 130 may retrieve stored localizationinformation from the database 216 and process timestamps associated withthe retrieved localization information, process location informationassociated with the retrieved localization information, process a set ofsensor identifiers associated with the retrieved localizationinformation, process flag(s) associated with the retrieved localizationinformation, etc.

At block 306, the TPMS controller 130 determines whether the retrievedlocalization information is valid. In some examples, the TPMS controller130 determines whether the retrieved localization information is validbased on a comparison of timestamps. Additionally or alternatively, theTPMS controller 130 may determine whether the retrieved localizationinformation is valid based on a comparison of location information(e.g., GPS position/location information). Additionally oralternatively, the TPMS controller 130 may determine whether theretrieved localization information is valid based on a comparison ofsensor identifiers. Additionally or alternatively, the TPMS controller130 may determine whether the retrieved localization information isvalid based on determining whether the retrieved localizationinformation includes an incomplete localization flag. If, at block 306,the TPMS controller 130 determines that the retrieved localizationinformation is valid, the example method 300 of FIG. 3 ends.

If, at block 306, the TPMS controller 130 determines that the retrievedlocalization information is not valid (e.g., is stale), then, at block308, the TPMS controller 130 activates (e.g., initiates) a paired statewith the TPMS sensors 104 of the vehicle 100. At block 310, the TPMScontroller 130 determines whether all of the TPMS sensors 104 are in thepaired state. If, at block 310, the TPMS controller 130 determines thatone or more of the TPMS sensors 104 are not in the paired state, themethod 300 returns to block 308 to activate the paired state with theone or more TPMS sensors 104.

If, at block 310, the TPMS controller 130 determines that all of theTPMS sensors 104 are in the paired state, then, at block 312, the TPMScontroller 130 initiates a localization procedure.

At block 314, the TPMS controller 130 determines whether a TPMS sensor104 localized. If, at block 314, the TPMS controller 130 did not receivean indication that a TPMS sensor 104 localized, then the method 300proceeds to block 320 to determine whether a time-out occurred. If, atblock 314, the TPMS controller 130 determines that a TPMS sensor 104 waslocalized, then, at block 316, the TPMS controller 130 records thelocalization information provided by the TPMS sensor 104. For example,the TPMS controller 130 may record a sensor identifier associated withthe TPMS sensor 104, location information of the TPMS sensor 104,location information of the vehicle 100, a timestamp, etc.

At block 318, the TPMS controller 130 determines whether all of the TPMSsensors 104 are localized. If, at block 318, the TPMS controller 130determines that all of the TPMS sensors 104 are localized, then themethod 300 ends.

If, at block 318, the TPMS controller 130 determines that at least oneTPMS sensor 104 is not localized, then, at block 320, the TPMScontroller 130 determines whether a time-out occurred. For example, atime-out may occur if the time elapsed since the TPMS controller 130initiated the localization procedure exceeds a time-out threshold (e.g.,more than 10 minutes).

If, at block 320, the TPMS controller 130 determines that a time-out didnot occur, then the method 300 returns to block 314 to wait for a TPMSsensor 104 to localize

If, at block 320, the TPMS controller 130 determines that a time-outoccurred, then, at block 322, the TPMS controller 130 records a flagassociated with an incomplete localization with the current localizationinformation. The method 300 then ends.

In this application, the use of the disjunctive is intended to includethe conjunctive. The use of definite or indefinite articles is notintended to indicate cardinality. In particular, a reference to “the”object or “a” and “an” object is intended to denote also one of apossible plurality of such objects. Further, the conjunction “or” may beused to convey features that are simultaneously present instead ofmutually exclusive alternatives. In other words, the conjunction “or”should be understood to include “and/or”. The terms “includes,”“including,” and “include” are inclusive and have the same scope as“comprises,” “comprising,” and “comprise” respectively. Additionally, asused herein, the terms “module,” “unit,” and “node” refer to hardwarewith circuitry to provide communication, control and/or monitoringcapabilities, often in conjunction with sensors. A “module,” a “unit,”and a “node” may also include firmware that executes on the circuitry.

The above-described embodiments, and particularly any “preferred”embodiments, are possible examples of implementations and merely setforth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Manyvariations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without substantially departing from the spirit andprinciples of the techniques described herein. All modifications areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: a plurality of tirepressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors; a communication module; and acontroller to: detect an initiation event associated with the vehicle;responsive to detection of the initiation event, determine whether firstlocalization information is valid based on information associated withthe TPMS sensors by comparing a first timestamp associated with thefirst localization information and a current timestamp; and determiningthat the first localization information is not valid when a differencebetween the first timestamp and the current timestamp does not satisfy atime threshold; and initiate, via the communication module, alocalization procedure at the TPMS sensors when the first localizationinformation is not valid.
 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is to detect the initiation event in response to adetermination that the vehicle is moving.
 3. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the controller is to detect the initiation event in response toa determination that a vehicle speed satisfies a threshold speed.
 4. Thevehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is to initiate thelocalization procedure at the TPMS sensors by initiating, via thecommunication module, a paired state with the TPMS sensors.
 5. Thevehicle of claim 4, wherein the paired state is a wireless communicationprotocol paired state.
 6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the firstlocalization information was collected at a time prior to the controllerdetecting the initiation event.
 7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is to determine whether the first localization information isvalid by: comparing first location information associated with the firstlocalization information and current location information associatedwith the vehicle; and determining that the first localizationinformation is not valid when a difference between the first locationinformation and the current location information does not satisfy alocation threshold.
 8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller isto determine whether the first localization information is valid by:comparing respective sensor identifiers associated with each of the TPMSsensors to sensor identifiers associated with the first localizationinformation; and determining that the first localization information isnot valid when at least one of the respective sensor identifiersassociated with the TPMS sensors is not included in the sensoridentifiers associated with the first localization information.
 9. Thevehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is to determine that thefirst localization information is not valid when the first localizationinformation includes information associated with an incompletelocalization.
 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is tostop the localization procedure for a TPMS sensor when the respectiveTPMS sensor is localized.
 11. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is to re-initiate the localization procedure with a TPMSsensor in response to receiving an incomplete localization flag from theTPMS sensor.
 12. A method comprising: detecting, via a processor, aninitiation event associated with a vehicle; in response to detecting theinitiation event, determining whether first localization information isvalid based on information associated with a plurality of tire pressuremonitoring system (TPMS) sensors of the vehicle by comparing a firsttimestamp associated with the first localization information and acurrent timestamp; and determining that the first localizationinformation is not valid when a difference between the first timestampand the current timestamp does not satisfy a time threshold; andinitiating, via the processor, a localization procedure at the TPMSsensors when the first localization information is not valid.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the initiating of the localization procedureat the TPMS sensors includes initiating a paired state with the TPMSsensors.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the paired state is awireless communication protocol paired state.
 15. The method of claim12, wherein the first localization information was collected at a timeprior to the detecting of the initiation event.
 16. The method of claim12, wherein the determining of whether the first localizationinformation is valid includes: comparing first location informationassociated with the first localization information and current locationinformation associated with the vehicle; and determining that the firstlocalization information is not valid when a difference between thefirst location information and the current location information does notsatisfy a location threshold.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein thedetermining of whether the first localization information is validincludes: comparing respective sensor identifiers associated with eachof the TPMS sensors to sensor identifiers associated with the firstlocalization information; and determining that the first localizationinformation is not valid when at least one of the respective sensoridentifiers associated with the TPMS sensors is not included in thesensor identifiers associated with the first localization information.18. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining of whether the firstlocalization information is valid includes determining that the firstlocalization information includes information associated with anincomplete localization.